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from the learn-anything-on-the-interwebz dept.
Australian Broadcast Corporation reports
Haisem Zahab, an Australian citizen, is alleged to have been researching how to develop laser missile detection equipment for IS and helping the extremists develop their own destructive missile arsenal.
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"We will allege he has utilised the internet to perform services for ISIL," Commissioner Colvin said."Firstly, by researching and designing a laser warning device to help warn against incoming guiding munitions used by coalition forces in Syria and Iraq.
"Secondly, we will also allege that he has been researching, designing and modelling systems to assist ISIL's efforts to develop their own long-range guided missile capabilities."
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Commissioner Colvin said Zahab, who is a trained electrician, had conducted "fairly sophisticated" research.
Mmm...aybe it is indeed a good time for Australia to kickstart its own space agency? I mean, look, if a trained electrician living outback manages to conduct a credible "fairly sophisticated research", perhaps the tech potential is quite high downunder.
(Score: 1) by tedd on Wednesday March 01 2017, @07:34AM (2 children)
You do know there's no such thing as negative AC, right?
(Score: 1) by MorePower on Wednesday March 01 2017, @12:12PM
Well, not in the Northern Hemisphere there isn't. But down under?
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday March 01 2017, @03:07PM
Seriously dude take a 741 set up the feedback to invert (ground the positive input and short the output to the negative input) look on a dual trace scope at both wave forms and tell me one isn't "negative AC". Surely the trace of the output of that opamp isn't positive AC or plain old AC, its clearly the input trace negated or "negative AC"
I am mostly kidding. Mostly.
Another one of those philosophizing at the lab bench, to troll bench techs, is phase angle. OK most people are pretty chill with applying a positive 180 degree phase delay using resistors and capacitors sized for some specific freq sine wave. People are chill, of course RC circuits cause a delay, sure no challenge to delay a waveform by half a cycle to get a postive 180 degree phase angle. Now, mind blown time, you can use the same parts to cause a negative 180 degree phase delay, yo its like the output wave goes forward in time half a cycle to figure out what the input waveform will be in the future and outputs it now, whoa... Again mostly kidding.
In the old days bench techs mostly did stuff thats probably a fire able OSHA violation today, which is a shame because it was fun and didn't kill anyone very often, mostly, like charge up electrolytics to 400 or so volts and carefully toss them to other techs to catch, that usually only works once or maybe twice with the dumber ones, or we'd hook the caps up across line power to cause a (probably toxic) steam explosion. We also did stupid things with smoke emitting diodes. I specifically remember a switching power supply undergrad lab where I'm surprised anyone made it out alive. Every idiot there found a way to put their hand across rectified line power or found a way to wire up an oscilloscope without an isolation transformer on the lab experiment to fry the scope or blow the room breaker or fry themselves by touching floating ground scope or I remember one idiot had to fail the lab in shame because he blew every transistor he touched and the stockroom wouldn't give him any more. I remember the lab TA yelling at one kid for blowing the room breaker because the TA didn't think it was physically possible and he wanted to know, apparently the kid crossed some wires and shorted out the AC and to get around the bench breaker tripping he held it down until the room breaker popped. Every time I look at a power supply that I didn't make, I consider that one of those idiots probably designed it. I keep a lot of fire extinguishers in my house.
Dumbest thing I ever did was built a bridge rectifier out of green LEDs on a dare and the peak voltage of the transformer, whatever it was, apparently exceeded the PIV rating of a green LED, whatever it is (probably like 5 volts, 24 volts, wasn't much) and I blew the LEDs either on the charging spike or exceeding PIV and then popped the little smoothing electrolytic I had on the output (so at least two failed shorted or zenered, at least for a little while). Ah good times. This was in the old days before blue LEDs so green LEDs were the coolest and I thought having a glowing bridge rectifier would be cool. It glowed, but not for long LOL....